Apparatus for treating textile material



R. c. FAY 3,526,024

TREATING TEXTILE MATERIAL 2 Sheets-5heet 1 Sept. 1, 1970 APPARATUS FOR Filed Oct. 16, 1968 Sept. 1, 1970 c. Y

APPARATUS FOR TREATING TEXTILE MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 16, 1968 Robert C Fay ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,526,024 APPARATUS FOR TREATING TEXTILE MATERIA. t D R b t C. Fa S artauburg S. assignor o eering lVI il liken Re s ear dh Corpoiiiltion, spartanburg, S.C., a

oration of South Caro ina corp Filed Oct. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 768,005

Int. Cl. D02j 13/00 US. Cl. 28-62 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Improved apparatus for treating textile yarn in a gaseous atmosphere comprising a rotatable perforate drum for supportably receiving a plurality of wraps of yarn, a gas distributing manifold surrounding the drum in spaced relation thereto to form a yarn treating passageway therebetween, and gas circulating means for directing a gas across the passageway including conduit means and gas impelling means positioned closely adjacent the drum and manifold, the manifold; drum and gas circulating means being compactly arranged and enclosed in an insulated housing to facilitate economical construction and operation of the apparatus.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating textile materials, and more particularly, to an improved apparatus for processing textile yarn and the like in the presence of a gaseous atmosphere.

In US. patent application Ser. No. 689,025, filed Dec. 8, 1967, and commonly assigned with the present application, there is disclosed a method and apparatus for treating textile yarn, e.g., thermoplastic yarn which may or may not have been previously subjected to a texturizing operation, such as edge crimping, stufier box crimping, false twisting, and the like, by contacting the yarn with a heated gaseous atmosphere while it is under low tension to stabilize and/ or relieve latent stresses previously imposed in the yarn and fully develop the same for use in various textile products.

The apparatus described in the aforementioned application, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, consists of a rotatably driven, hollow support drum having a perforated peripheral yarn-supporting surface, and a gas distributing manifold surrounding the peripheral surface of the drum to form a yarn treating passageway therebetween. Yarn is continuously overfed into the passageway by an aspirator device and is transported in a plurality of wraps on the drum surface through the passageway where it is continuously contacted by a transversely flowing stream of gas, such as heated air. The gas is continuously circulated in a substantially closed path across the passageway from the manifold to the interior of the drum by an externally positioned blower fan and conduit system which connects the drum interior to an opening in the wall of the manifold. Heating means are located in the external conduit system to heat the air passing to the manifold.

Although the apparatus disclosed in this copending application serves effectively to develop and stabilize the yarn being treated, it has certain drawbacks. Due to the external location of the heating means and blower fan and the necessary arrangement of the gas conduit system, there is appreciable heat loss through the system which cannot be utilized to treat the yarn. Additionally, there is an inherent pressure loss in the system due to the remote location of the blower fan which consequently requires more horsepower to effectively circulate the heated air through the apparatus. Introduction of the heated air from the external conduit system at only a ice single location in the wall of the annular manifold also makes it diflicult to maintain uniform temperature and gas flow throughout the yarn treating passageway between the drum and manifold. Further, the treating apparatus requires a considerable amount of floor space to accommodate the external gas circulating system. These factors increase the initial cost of fabrication and installation of the apparatus, and also result in increased cost of operation of the apparatus.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus of the type described which overcomes the aforementioned problems.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for treating textile yarns and the like in a circulating gaseous atmosphere which is of compact construction and is economical to operate.

It is a further object to provide an apparatus of the type described for continuously treating textile yarns in a heated gaseous atmosphere to stabilize and fully develop the same.

It is a still further object to provide an apparatus for continuously treating a moving textile yarn in a gaseous atmosphere with improved uniformity in temperature and gas flow conditions during treatment.

The accomplishment of these as well as other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the apparatus, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a yarn treating apparatus of the present invention, with a portion of the interior of the apparatus shown in broken lines to illustrate the general path of a yarn strand passing through the apparatus during operation; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the apparatus, taken generally along line 22 of FIG. 1, and showing in detail its interior construction.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the yarn treating apparatus of the present invention which generally includes a hollow rotatable drum 12 and an annular gas distributing manifold 14 surrounding the drum. The inner peripheral surface 16 of the manifold has perforations or openings 17 therein and is disposed in spaced opposed relation to the similarly perforated peripheral surface 18 of the drum to form yarn treating passageway 19 therebetween. Gas circulating means, generally indicated at 20 (FIG. 2), are located adjacent the inner end of the drum 12 and manifold 14 and serve to continuously circulate a treating gas across the passageway 19 between the drum and manifold for treatment of yarn, as will be explained. The drum, manifold, and gas circulating means are enclosed in an insulated housing 22 which is suitably mounted on a support frame 24.

Means, shown as a gas aspirator 26, are provided for continuously introducing a strand S (FIG. 1) of yarn into the passageway 19 for treatment, and a slotted opening 28 is provided in the housing and manifold for the removal of yarn from the passageway 19 after treatment. As shown in broken lines in FIG. 1, the yarn strand S is supported in a plurality of wraps on the perforate peripheral surface of the drum for treatment during its passage through the passageway. The spaced wraps of yarn are advanced across the surface of the drum during rotation by a suitably canted yarn guide roller 29.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the hollow drum 12 is supported by a central shaft 30 which is rotatably mounted by suitable hearings in a support sleeve 32. A flanged end 33 of the sleeve is suitably secured to the frame 24 and the sleeve extends outwardly in cantilevered relation thereto. Drum 12 is attached to the outer end of shaft 30 by a hub 34 which abuts a shoulder 36 on the shaft and is secured in fixed relation on the shaft by a bolt and washer assembly 37. The drum is stabilized during rotation by a plurality of supporting spokes 38 which extend from the hub to the periphery of the drum. Located on the opposite end of shaft is a rotatable drive member 39 which is driven by suitable means, not shown, to rotate the shaft and drum and thereby transport the yarn through the passageway during treatment.

The gas aspirator 26, which is of the type described in the aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 689,- 025, serves to posivitively feed yarn into the treating passageway 19. The aspirator is supportably mounted on the housing 22 and includes a yarn guide tube 40 which extends through the housing and manifold and communicates with the passageway to introduce the strand of yarn into the passageway, where it is disposed in a plurality of wraps on the drum. Mounted in a plurality of loops in the gas distributing manifold 14 on the outer wall thereof is a gas supply tube 41, one end of which communicates with a source of pressurized gas, not shown, and the other end 42 of which communicates with the aspirator 26. The tube 41 serves as gas transferring means to supply gas to the aspirator while permitting preheating of the gas, as will be explained.

The treating gas circulating means 20 includes conduit means comprising a pair of spaced generally circular plates or walls 44, which are located immediately adjacent the inner end of the drum and extend radially outwardly from points adjacent the central axis of the drum to the manifold 14. The plate 44 and the shaftsupporting sleeve 32 form an annular opening 46 about the central support shaft, and the spaced plates serve to communicate the interior of the drum with the inner side of the annular manifold throughout the full circumferential length thereof.

Located between walls 44, 45 is a centrifugal fan 50. The hub 52 of the fan is suitably rotatably mounted, as by ball bearings, on the support sleeve 32 to place the fan in juxtaposition to the drum 12 adjacent the cen tral opening 46 therefrom. A portion of hub 52 extends through the rear wall of housing 22 and is provided with a rotatable drive element 54 which is driven by suitable means, not shown, to impart rotation to the centrifugal fan. The blades of the fan are straight, extend radially outwardly from the hub 52, and the back side of the fan is closed by a circular plate 55 secured to the hub and edges of the blades. The fan 50 serves as impelling means to circulate treating gas in a substantially closed path through the drum and manifold and across the yarn treating passageway, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2.

Positioned radially outwardly of fan 50 between walls 44, 45 are heating coils 60, 61 which are connected by suitable means, not shown, to an electrical supply source and serve to heat the gas passing through the conduit means.

In a typical operation of the apparatus, a strand of yarn, such as a thermoplastic yarn having latent stresses imposed therein, is directed from a suitable yarn supply source to the yarn inlet of the aspirator 26. Pressurized gas from the gas supply tube 41 propels the yarn strand through the guide tube 40 and into the yarn treating passageway 19 where it is wrapped a plurality of times about the peripheral surface of the rotating drum by suitable threading means,'such as a wand, wire, or the like. Pressurized gas passing into the aspirator is preheated during its passage through the tube coil located in the manifold, and the yarn is preferably overfed onto the drum surface to facilitate its longitudinal shrinkage during contact by the heated aspirator gas. The drum is continuously rotated to transport the yarn about the treating passageway, while the centrifugal fan 50 continuously forces a flow of gas in a seubstantially closed path across the passageway 19 from the manifold to the drum. Circulating gas is heated by the electrical coils disposed about the fan to effect further heat treatment of the yarn while in a substantially relaxed condition on the surface of the drum to fully develop the same prior to its removal from the apparatus through the slotted opening in the housing.

From the foregoing detailed description of the apparatus and its manner of operation, it can be seen that the compact arrangement of the gas heating and circulating system inside the insulated housing of the apparatus, wherein the fan and heating elements are located immediately adjacent the rotating drum, permits optimum use of the heat produced by the heating coils to preheat the aspirator gas and to treat the yarn in the passageway. The relatively short, compact gas conduit means connecting the interior of the drum to the side of the manifold also permits the use of minimum power for circulating the treating gas. By further arranging the conduit means so as to introduce the heated gas into the manifold throughout its entire annular extent, a more uniform distribution of the heated treating gas can be effected throughout in the yarn treating passageway, thereby providing more uniform temperature during treatment of the yarn.

The foregoing drawings and specification have set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms have been employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for processing textile yarn comprising a hollow rotatable drum having a perforate peripheral surface for supporting a plurality of wraps of yarn thereon, an annular gas distributing manifold surrounding said drum and having a inner perforate surface disposed in spaced opposed relation to the peripheral surface of said drum to form a yarn treating passageway therebetween, a central support shaft attached to said drum for rotatably driving said drum to transport yarn through said passageway, means operatively assoicated with said drum and manifold for continuously introducing a strand of yarn into said passageway for treatment, and means for circulating a gas across said passageway between said manifold and drum to treat yarn therein, said circulating means comprising gas conduit means located at one end of said drum and extending radially outwardly from adjacent the central axis of the drum to said manifold, one end of said conduit means communicating with the interior of said drum adjacent said central axis and the other end thereof communicating with the adjacent side portion of said manifold, and gas impelling means positioned in said conduit means adjacent saidopening and mounted for rotation about said shaft of said drum to circulate treating gas in a substantially closed path through said drum and manifold and across said yarn treating passageway.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means disposed in said conduit means for heating gas passing therethrough, and an insulated housing enclosing said drum, manifold, and conduit means to minimize heat losses from said apparatus.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said apparatus includes a support frame, a support sleeve mounted on said frame and extending outwardly therefrom, said drum shaft extending through and being rotatably supported in said sleeve with said rotatable drum adjacent the outer end portion of said sleeve, and said gas impelling means comprising a centrifugal fan rotatably mounted on said support sleeve in juxtaposition to said rotatable drum.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said heat ing means comprises a heating coil positioned in said conduit means between said fan and said manifold.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for introducting a strand of yarn into said passageway comprises gas aspirating means for positively feeding yarn into the yarn passageway, said aspirating means including a yarn guide tube communicating with said passageway; and further including means for supplying gas to said aspirating means to propel a yarn strand through said guide tube and into said passageway, said supplying means including gas transferring means disposed in said manifold to permit preheating of gas passing to said aspirating means.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said gas transferring means comprises a tube mounted in a plurality of loops in said manifold and communicating with said aspirating means.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said other end of said gas conduit means communicates with said annular gas distributing manifold throughout the full circumferential length thereof to facilitate uniform distribution of treating gas and uniform temperature in the yarn treating passageway.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,189,915 2/1940 Mellor et a1. 34-23 2,336,019 12/ 1943 Kline et a1 34-23 3,362,079 1/1968 Fleissner 34-23 10 3,439,391 4/1969 De Vote et a1. 2862X LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner 

